Abstract:

Sati al-Husri is considered as the exponent of Arab nationalist doctrine in post-World War I period and is known as one of the most influential theorists of Arab nationalism. Al-Husri defines Arab nationalism on the basis of common language and shared history. Al-Husri’s doctrine became very influential in Arab states those emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and were in search for an identity. This doctrine was embraced by most of Arabs. Al-Husri’s political and cultural nationalism also influenced Michel Aflaq who led the formation of the Ba’th Party. Aflaq adopted Sati al-Husri’s Arab nationalism doctrine as the ideological basis of the party. While Al-Husri was an advocate of Ottomanism and was against nationalism, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire he became an advocate of Arab nationalism. This study seeks to analyze the process of Al-Husri’s transititon from Ottomanism to Arab nationalism and to determine the factors which affected this transition. This study will also deal with the effects of this process on the formation of Arab nationalist doctrine and later pan-Arabism doctrine. Thus, Al-Husri’s influence on Arab countries’ political life both as a sociologist and theorist of Arab nationalism will be reevaluated.

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